Alpha Natural Resources Adjusts Central Appalachia Coal Production

BRISTOL, Va. - Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) today announced that coal production will be reduced at certain mines in theCentral Appalachia region due to market conditions that have decreased coal demand. Alpha subsidiaries in Kentucky and West Virginia will idle four mines immediately and two others between now and early 2013, while several other mines will alter work schedules or reduce the number of production crews. Altogether 10 mining operations are affected, four in eastern Kentucky and six in southern West Virginia. When completed, the adjustments are expected to reduce annual coal production by approximately 4.0 million tons, most of which originates on the CSX rail system. The total includes approximately 2.5 million tons of thermal coal and 1.5 million tons of lower quality, high-volatility metallurgical coal. Eastern Kentucky operations will scale back thermal coal production by about 1.5 million tons while the remaining reductions will occur in southern West Virginia. Management and human resources personnel at the affected Alpha subsidiaries have met with their employees to outline potential relocation opportunities at other operations with unfilled vacancies along with wage and benefit continuation plans. Alpha expects that, once the available transfer opportunities are filled, approximately 320 employees at affiliated mining companies will be displaced within the next few weeks. "A business decision like this is so difficult because it impacts people and their families, but adverse market conditions left us no choice," said Kevin Crutchfield, Alpha's CEO. "Several mines are encountering weak demand for their products. We examined all options but in the end these operations had to do what was necessary to preserve a sustainable business plan in a challenging environment. In the days ahead, we will be examining all aspects of costs across our entire value chain, including cost reduction reviews with all key stakeholders." Alpha's Central Appalachian businesses are seeing more electric utilities switch from thermal coal to natural gas to take advantage of gas prices at 10-year lows. A series of federal regulatory actions also have prompted utilities to implement plans for shutting down a number of generating stations that have traditionally run on coals sourced from Central Appalachia. Alpha is in the process of evaluating the financial statement treatment and impact of the actions announced today, and plans to give further updates on the production adjustments and its outlook for the thermal and metallurgical coal markets during its earnings conference call scheduled for February 24.   "Tremendous credit goes to these miners and support personnel who worked diligently, day after day, to safely and productively supply coal to our customers," said Kurt Kost, Alpha's president in charge of the company's mining operations. "We're going to do everything we can to help transition these employees who have been so dedicated to their jobs. All employees will receive consideration for other job openings within the Alpha family of companies. We're also seeking the cooperation and involvement of state employment officials and identifying employment opportunities with other coal producers in the area."   About Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources is one of America's premier coal suppliers with coal production capacity of greater than 120 million tons a year. Alpha is the nation's leading supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries across the country. The company, through its affiliates, employs approximately 14,000 people and operates approximately 150 mines and 33 coal preparation facilities inAppalachia and the Powder River Basin. More information about Alpha can be found on the company's Web site at www.alphanr.com.

Melvin Wylie

Millersville University Professor Discovers New Species of Fish

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The world will soon learn about two new species of fish, thanks to the work of Dr. Dominique Dagit, a biology professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and a graduate student from California, Jenny Kemper. The two, along with Dr. James Cosentino, a biology professor from Millersville University, recently traveled to New Zealand to study chimaeroids fishes. All three made the 8,000 mile journey to Wellington, New Zealand where they spent two weeks examining an extensive collection of chimaeroids fish. These fish are in the Order Chimaeriformes and are closely related to sharks. The work was funded by the National Museum of New Zealand Te papa Tongarewa and also a "Tree of Life" grant to Dagit provided by the National Science Foundation. In addition to studying this extensive collection of fish, Dagit completed the task of naming all of the unknown species of chimaeroids that live in New Zealand waters. "This will bring the total number of new species of chimaeroids that I've named to 15 which is 31 percent of all known chimaeroids in the world. In other words, of this whole entire Order of fishes, I've described one third of them," explained Dagit. As a result of their research, Dagit and Kemper, a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine laboratory in Moss Landing, Calif., are co-authoring three chapters in a soon-to-be published book titled "Fishes of New Zealand." "We are also describing these two new species of chimaeroid fishes. One of the species will be named for Dr. Cosentino who came along and helped out with our work," said Dagit.

Melvin Wylie

Waterless Urinals Fail in a School - $500,000 to Fix

In Boca Raton, Florida Students had to step over rivers of urin and endure a horid stench of rancid waste after a plan to bring 'green' waterless urinals into bathrooms backfired according to the report. School officals at Spanish River High School wanted an environmentally friendly, cost-savings solution so they turned to Falcon Waterfree urinals. With no water moving through the copper pipes to flush the urine into the sewer system, the waste product eventualy ate through the metal leaving leaky pipes that dripped into the walls and flowed onto the floors. According to Frank Barbieri who told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel 'The girls had to step over a river of urine. I could smell it as soon as I walked into the hallway.'

Melvin Wylie

FCM Announces Opening of New Facility in British Columbia

FCM Recycling Inc. is proud to announce the opening of their newest e-waste processing facility in Delta, British Columbia.   FCM Recycling Inc. ("FCM") is excited to announce the opening of their newest facility located on Annacis Island, British Columbia. With the opening of this 50,000 square foot facility, FCM expands its operations of providing end of life electronics processing services to residential consumers, businesses, governments and provincial programs. "British Columbia, with a population of over 4 million people, is home to one of the most advanced and developed end of life electronics processing programs. FCM is excited to provide its services in the BC market and contribute to the local community through job creation and its involvement in the community" said Andrew Rubin, representative of FCM. This facility will provide FCM with a national reach allowing it to service customers with their e-waste, ITAD and data destruction needs from the Canadian east to west coast.   About FCM Recycling FCM Recycling is one of North America's leaders in the recycling and safe disposal of end-of-life electronic equipment.  We dispose of EOLEs with no impact to the environment and the highest level of data protection. We boast major processing facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, government certifications, over 18 years experience, and knowledgeable, dedicated personnel. One of our key objectives was to become a pioneer in e-waste environmental services. We have achieved that objective. Today we strive to maintain our position as industry leader by continuously improving our processes and using the best practices available to us and the recycling industry. EOLES received at any of FCM's various state-of-the-art recycling facilities, are broken down into various recyclable components such as copper, aluminum, plastics, glass etc.  Equipment is fully destroyed, ensuring that no data becomes exposed to pilfering, with Certificates of Destruction issued on request.   For more information about FCM Recycling please visit www.fcmrecycling.com

Melvin Wylie

Airport Shuttles Going Green

While shared-ride transportation is inherently eco-friendly, many members of The GO Group, the world's largest airport shuttle provider, are going one step further. GO companies serving San Francisco International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Milwaukee's General Mitchell International, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin International are converting all or part of their fleets to alternative fuels – either compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane. While GO companies in Los Angeles (serving all southern California airports) and Chicago (serving Midway and O'Hare) also are in the process of doing so. CNG is a fossil fuel, while propane is a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining. Both burn cleaner than gasoline or diesel fuels, although CNG is considered the cleaner of the two. Companies that convert to alternative fuels can earn a 50 cents-per-gallon tax credit as well other incentives from local government and the airports. GO Shuttle Express in Seattle, which has 43 propane-fueled vehicles, began the conversion process last January and has 20 more systems to install. According to J. R. Rowley, president of GO Shuttle Express, the fuel saving has been around $2 per gallon. Maintenance costs, however, have been slightly higher due to the learning curve. In San Francisco, GO Lorries has adapted 16 vans to CNG, with another 28 to be retrofitted for CNG by May. "The conversions are expensive," says Julio Bonilla, president, "but the fuel savings mitigate the cost." As of December, GO Riteway Transportation Group in Milwaukee has moved 21 of its 500-vehicle fleet to propane, experiencing a $7,000 fuel savings since October. According to Jason Ebert, fleet and facilities coordinator, the maintenance costs are lower as oil changes can now be performed every 7,000 rather than every 5,000 miles as in the past. Ebert reports one reason GO Riteway opted for propane is that it is 90 percent as efficient as gasoline, which allows for a greater vehicle range than CNG, which is only 31 percent efficient. Also, the cost of a propane conversion is one third less than the cost of a CNG conversion. The GO Group LLC is a one-stop source for airport shuttles, which transport some 13 million passengers to and from airports in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Travelers can book ground transportation to and from both departure and destination airports at www.goairportshuttle.com.

Melvin Wylie

Amazon Defense Coalition Says U.S. Law Firms Bill Chevron Exorbitant Fees To Prevent Clean-up of Ecuador Pollution Crisis

Oil Giant Concedes It Has Used Almost 500 Lawyers to Fight Rainforest Indigenous Groups While indigenous groups in Ecuador's Amazon face possible death and grave illness from Chevron's "Rainforest Chernobyl" disaster, several prominent U.S. law firms and their well-known partners are billing the oil giant hundreds of millions of dollars to forestall a clean-up that could save thousands of lives, according to court documents. Chevron's lead outside law firm in the U.S., Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, has 60 lawyers working extensively on the case, a recent court filing revealed. The filing also showed that Chevron has paid almost 500 attorneys and paralegals from 39 different law firms since the celebrated case was filed in U.S. federal court in 1993. The litigation was shifted to Ecuador at Chevron's request in 2002, with a subsequent eight-year trial resulting in an $18 billion judgment against the oil giant for causing what experts believe could be the world's worst oil-related contamination. See here, here and here. The Ecuador litigation represents the first time that indigenous groups have successfully sued a large oil company for harm caused to their health and ancestral lands, said Karen Hinton, the U.S. spokesperson for the Ecuadorians. Evidence from independent health evaluations concluded that more than 9,000 rainforest dwellers face the risk of contracting cancer absent a rapid cleanup of the damage. In all, Gibson Dunn was billing Chevron an estimated $250 million per year in 2010 and 2011 as the company launched lawsuits against the plaintiffs in 16 different federal courts, helped to litigate an international arbitration action against Ecuador's government, filed a fraud case against the Ecuadorians and their lawyers in U.S. federal court, and supervised Chevron's battery of local lawyers in Ecuador as they faced multiple setbacks that culminated in the adverse judgment against Chevron, said Hinton. "Chevron's environmental destruction in Ecuador is the best thing that ever happened to the bottom line of Gibson Dunn," said Hinton, who noted the firm reported a 20% increase in per-partner profits in 2010 during a downturn in the economy as dozens of its lawyers worked full-bore on the Ecuador matter. "Clearly, Gibson Dunn and several other firms are profiting from rainforest destruction," Hinton added. "These lawyers have proven that fighting to deny the human rights of indigenous groups can be a very profitable business model." Gibson Dunn clearly has sold Chevron on its willingness to engage in questionable tactics and push the ethical envelope, said Hinton. The firm boasts that it engages in "recuse operations" for clients in trouble and that if the law is in the way it is willing to maneuver around it to achieve client objectives. Several judges have sanctioned Gibson Dunn lawyers for trying to intimidate witnesses and for filing frivolous lawsuits on behalf of Chevron, and one well-known partner has been accused of trying to mislead the Congress about the case. In November, a federal judge in Oregon fined Chevron after a team of Gibson Dunn lawyers had harassed the executive director of a respected environmental organization that had filed a brief in support of the Ecuadorians. Gibson Dunn also uses cookie cutter lawsuits, Hinton said, where defenders of human rights victims and their supporters are always accused of "fraud" for trying to hold wrongdoers like Chevron accountable for their misconduct. "The basic Gibson Dunn template is to attack victims to distract from the evidence," said Hinton. "When that doesn't work, the firm resorts to outright intimidation to silence any lawyer or advocate who stands up to the firm." Gibson Dunn's approach also has created numerous problems for Chevron in Ecuador, the fifth-largest oil producing nation in South America. Chevron's legal team in Ecuador is said to be furious with the Gibson Dunn lawyers for losing the case because of their arrogant treatment of Ecuadorian judges, said Hinton. Chevron lawyers in Ecuador working closely on the case with Gibson Dunn's "rescue" team have been sanctioned repeatedly for filing frivolous motions (once filing a motion eighteen times in 30 minutes), threatening the presiding judge with jail time if he didn't rule in Chevron's favor, and paying a Chevron contractor to secretly videotape a judge to try to entrap him in a trumped-up bribe scandal. The Ecuador court imposed a large punitive damages award on Chevron in large part for its abuse of the judicial process in Ecuador, according to the judgment. In the meantime, the case has become a financial bonanza for several other large law firms who represent Chevron. The list of 39 law firms disclosed by the company in a U.S. court action also includes the prominent criminal defense firm of Arguedas, Cassman & Headley; Jones Day; King & Spalding; Akin, Gump, Strauss; Hauer & Feld; Holland & Knight; Jones Day; Steptoe & Johnson; and Williams & Connolly. The all-star cast of attorneys who have worked on some aspect of the case for Chevron include Theodore Olson of Gibson Dunn, a former Solicitor General of the United States; Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly, who reportedly represented a Chevron executive who faced potential criminal liability in Ecuador; Greg Craig of Skadden Arps, President Clinton's impeachment lawyer who Chevron reportedly hired to explore settlement; Mickey Kantor of Mayer Brown, the former U.S. Trade Representative under Clinton who spearheaded a Chevron effort to cut trade preferences for Ecuador; David Boies, whose firm helps the oil giant fight discovery actions in the U.S. designed to expose its corruption in Ecuador; and Alan Vinegrad, a former U.S. Attorney who represented a Chevron lawyer indicted on criminal charges of fraud for lying to Ecuador's government about the results of a sham remediation. Chevron also has used six public relations firms to push talking points denying the company caused any environmental damage in Ecuador, even though the judgment is undergirded by extensive scientific evidence and the allegations have been confirmed by numerous independent news accounts. See here and here. After an eight-year trial, the Ecuador trial court in 2011 found the oil giant systematically discharged billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest, decimating indigenous groups and causing an array of oil-related health problems. An Ecuador appellate court affirmed the judgment in early January, potentially opening up Chevron to standard collection actions against its assets in jurisdictions around the world unless its posts a bond in Ecuador. Chevron stripped its assets from Ecuador and has vowed never to pay for a cleanup, even though reports indicate it contacted the plaintiffs recently in an attempt to explore settlement possibilities. Ultimately, one must wonder how much Chevron shareholders are getting in return for these expensive legal services, she said. In the last three years -- since Gibson Dunn's "rescue" operation was launched -- Chevron was hit with the $18 billion judgment, the largest ever for an environmental case; the judgment was confirmed by a three-judge panel; multiple courts sanctioned the company for its unethical litigation tactics; and a U.S. appellate court in New York prevented Chevron from seeking a worldwide injunction to block enforcement of the judgment. For more information, see www.chevrontoxico.com and become a follower of The Chevron Pit.

Melvin Wylie

E-Cigarettes May be the Green Solution

Millions of cigarette butts end up as litter each year. E-cigarettes could be a solution to this problem.

Go Green! From re-usable shopping bags, to ride sharing and recycling you see and hear it every day. So why should your smoking habits be any different? Cigarette filters are the single most collected item each year in international beach cleanups. It is estimated that 1.69 billion pounds (845,000 tons) of butts wind up as litter worldwide per year according to The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. E-Cigarettes could be a solution to this problem, according to research. With re-chargeable batteries and re-fillable cartridges E-Cigarettes would take a bite out of all the waste from tobacco butts and ashes. Also, there are thousands less chemicals being put into the air, which helps improve air quality. This is a big green plus for the e-cig compared to the regular tobacco based products. Also consider the amount of trees harvested every year to produce the paper used to wrap the tobacco. People are only recently beginning to realize just how green e-cigarettes are. At No. 7 E-Cigarettes being green is a priority for the company. President of No 7 E-Cigarettes, Kyle Newton states "We are here to provide customers with the best tobacco alternative in the world. Not only is being green a priority to the company, we also provide options excluding packaging so we can leave as small a footprint as possible." No 7 E-Cigarettes is one of the largest E-Cigarette companies in the world. They specialize in re-chargeable kits and refillable E-Cigarettes. Visit www.ECigarettesChoice.com for more information.

Melvin Wylie